Community Action

2016

Make sure that your National Road Safety Commission is doing its job

Check their website and make sure that they are providing up-to-date information. Safety campaigns and activities are planned using up to date information that should be available to YOU the public. After all YOU paid for it.

Report failing NRSC’s to your MP.

Here are examples of out of date or unobtainable data from NRSC’s. Some are years out of date:

Check out the UN website for resources. http://www.who.int/roadsafety/week/2016/en/

Write to them and ask them for help? E-mail:traffic@who.int

Why not get the Press involved?

If you see a crash, take a picture on your cell ‘phone and send it to your local newspaper or TV station. Getting Road Safety into the public eye is a starting point for change. Each human story behind a crash is a memorial. If the people who are paid to improve road safety in your country are negligent in their jobs, we may be able to shame them into action through the press.

Driver Road Safety initiative:

Starting point for a local initiative:

Here is a simple starting point for your church Road Safety programme.

Get focused. Define your purpose. How about a slogan?

This would make a good bumper sticker.

How about adopting this as your mission statement? Even better, write your own mission statement. You can be Road Safety Missionaries.

Organise yourself. You do not need a big committee but you do need people who are committed to Road Safety. Put the WORDS into DEEDS.

Start with yourselves. People hate those who preach what they should do and do not do it themselves.

Start in your church….here are some Road Safety sermon outlines to give you some ideas: Click the image to download.

Check that all members arriving at church in cars and all leaving in cars are wearing seatbelts. Why not put a sign up in the car park?

Encourage people to wear seat belts at all times (got to the tabs at the top of the page and follow the links REPORTS>GENERAL REPORTS and download DownloadSeat-belt book 607 111208 comp

Sensitise the church to the issues of road safety and encourage commitment. Why not write your own 10 commandments of road safety? For example

I will always wear a seat belt when they are available

I will not use my mobile phone if I am driving

I will obey the speed limits

I will report bad behaviour to the police

I will advise my community leader, elders and M.P’s on the safety issues in my community

I will learn the basics of First Aid

I will teach my children the rules of the road

I will ask my child’s school to teach safety to all pupils

I will always walk facing oncoming traffic

I will wear light coloured clothes at night so as to be seen by other road users, especially cars

Here is an example from the Red Cross.

Yes, road safety may be a big problem but “The way to eat an elephant is in small pieces”.

3. Generate community ideas among yourselves. Road Safety is not rocket science. Why not have a church competition with a prize for the best safety ideas (Children’s ideas and adults ideas). If you want any guidance on this, drop me a line. Put the best ideas into practice.